National Republican., 1887-03-04
Industrial Equity.

induced extended inquiry into the proposed
plan.
This inquiry has disclosed the fact that
cooperation is almost as old as civilization
itself, and that wherever tried, free from |
extraneous and deleterious complications,
cooperation has been successful.
1adman, the Samian, who lived 600 years |
before Christ, taught cooperation, and |
CrGsus, the Lydian king, whose name has
come to us as the synonym Of wealth, not
only taught but practiced cooperation.
But leaving the regions Of ancient history
we find that an industrial cooperative
society was established by some journey
men tailors at Birmingham, England, In
1877; another at Huh, in the nature of an
industrial partnership, in 1906, to run a
corn mill, and still another in London, 1921,
by some printers. Cooperative stores were
established as far back as 1904.
But the question is new one here, and
one which ought to and will excite great in
terest. This being the case, the NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN, proposes to discuss 1t fully and
freely.
To do this intellgently It is first neces-
sary to define exactly what is meant by CO.
operation and see In what forms II can be
applied.
Co operation has always been practiced
to certain extent in business operations in
the form of partnerships when two or more
persons unite their capital aud services to
conduct any form of business. Should
other labor than that of the partners be
necessary, the business is not cooperative
so far as the employees are concerned
The cooperative store grew out Of this,
| the idea being that not only all those en-
gagged in conducting the business, but all
those who contributed to 1t by becoming
purchasers, or supplying capital, should be
profit sharers, and this system has grown
enormously in Europe, producing good re-
suits for the consumers.
| But this is not industrial CO operation.
That term means the co. operation OF labor
| upon equal terms and In such a way that
the laborer shall secure the full product Of
his or her work, and this must be distln.
| guished from industrial partnerships when
capital and labor are united, each receiving
a share of the profits.
1t is true that most industrial co.opera-
tive societies will require more or less capt.
tai, but society properly organized can
reverse the usual rule and let labor hire the
capital IL needs to conduct its business iR-
stead Of capital hiring labor at its otCn price.
This is one form Of cooperation, the
other being when labor and capital unite
each taking fair and agreed share of the
profits, but either system secures to labor
the full results of its production.
Thus when skilled and unskilled labor
are united In co operative company, say
for the purpose Of building houses, each
member holding the same number OF shares.
The skilled members Of this society, the
brickmasons, the carpenters. the painters,
the GLACIERS, the plumbers, are each paid
the usual wages Of the craft, and so are the
common laborers, the hodcarriers, the ex-
cavators, &C., but each having received the
wages that are his due, when the profits are
to be divided each shares alike.
This illustration serves to show the prin-
Ct hGaSR Sstare that maj man should like
toteel that he is to be the gamer by any
extra exertion he mag put forth. 1t is not
an unreasonable wish for man to desire
that he should have some interest and con.
troll over the work he performs, is the Ian.
guage OF one of Englanos ablest statesmen,
Lord Derby, when discussing this subject
in 1850
That Lord Derby was right is fully proven
by an incident in the management OF the
Belgian railways, which all belong to the
state. Ninety-fve tons OF coal were used
on all the roads to accomplish certain
distance. Every effort to reduce the guam
tity was failure until :pence per ton was
offered to the fremen for each ton saved.
The result was that forty-eight tons was
soon all that was required to do precisely
the work for which ninety.five had been
used. The men had an interest In using
their coal as economically and to the best
advantage possible.
This principle of human nature, this "not
unreasonable wish," will not only be the
great incentive to the formation of indus
trial CO. operative associations, but will be
the best guarantee Of their success. Each
member will have personal interest In the
: strict economy, the close attention to busi-
ness that are necessary, and that ALWAYS
bring success to the individual, and the
| '~SN"s "ii W 'hao eno Co-opcTutlNe aSSOcla-
tions will determine the exact value of
each article produced by labor, and selling
1t themselves can do SO at less price and
greater profit than those who produce it
by hired labor.
What thenr Our bounteous mother from
whence we came and to which we return,
the earth, produces not only the necessares
OF life, but all its comforts and elegancies.
The artisan and the laborer fashion these
products of forest, mine, and field into use.
Receiving, as they will through CO. opera.
tioD, the full result of their laoor, each will
be better able to supply himself with all his
| needs.
Nor do we by this intend to say that all
men can live in palaces and feed upon terra
| pin, but that there need be and will be no lack
OF what each person for himself feels to be
sufficient. NIen are born to labor, and It is
Of labor effectively used that we are en-
deavoring to show the result. Men will
continue to labor, even should co operation
be universally adopted, but they will re-
ceive, as they should, the full returns for
their labor.
A Fable.